Around New Haven 9.24.10

A dead body was found in a bathtub of an apartment in the East Shore neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon, and police have categorized the incident as a suspicious death. Police said the maintenance worker who found the body entered the apartment after a tenant told him water from the apartment above was leaking through his ceiling. Upon investigating the complaint, the worker found a female body in the apartment’s bathtub. Police are still awaiting the results of the medical examination. —Colin Ross

City releases list of education reform goals

New Haven this week released a list of measures it may use to rank the city’s public schools and analyze their progress, the New Haven Register reported. The tentative list included timetables and benchmarks the city is considering using and is part of the city’s effort to bring students’ standardized test scores to the state average, halve the drop-out rate and make sure that every student has the opportunity to go to college. The metrics included standardized test scores and teacher evaluations. —Esther Zuckerman

Woman injured in drive-by stabbing

A 43 year-old woman was the victim of a drive-by stabbing Wednesday night. The woman, Tasha Groomes, told police she had been walking in the Dixwell neighborhood when two males on bicycles drove by her and one of the riders stabbed her once in the abdomen. Police said she was taken to St. Raphael’s Hospital and is being treated for her injuries. —Colin Ross

Race for Ward 9 seat heats up

Jessica Holmes, 31, a stay-at-home mother and former union organizer, has entered the race for Ward 9 alderman in the East Rock neighborhood. She will face two opponents already in the race, Matt Smith and Jane Edelstein. Holmes is running on a platform which includes expanding the Board of Aldermen’s role in bringing about reforms in the city’s public and charter schools. Current Ward 9 Alderman Roland Lemar is expected to resign his seat because he is running unopposed for the 96th District General Assembly seat. The election will take place Nov. 2. —Egidio DiBenedetto

Rowdy males molest female grad student

A Yale graduate student was followed, harassed and forcibly kissed this past weekend, Yale Assistant Police Chief Ronnell Higgins said in an e-mail Thursday. The student was approached by five males who had been on the same Yale shuttle bus as the victim. Higgins said the student told police the men told her they had been drinking and tried to talk with her as she walked to her apartment. Before she got inside, one of the men seized and kissed her. The men left her alone after she resisted. —Colin Ross

President of fire union takes up No. 2 spot

Patrick Egan, president of the New Haven fire union, was sworn in Wednesday as assistant fire chief in charge of assistant, the department’s second-highest position, the New Haven Register reported. Prior to his appointment, Egan had been the longest-serving president of New Haven Firefighters Local 825, having served in the post for the past decade. In his new position, Egan will be planning for the department’s long-term future, in addition to managing many of its day-to-day operations. —Yale Daily News